My Final Four picks

I stopped throwing away my money on NCAA basketball tournament pools years ago. I never came close to winning one.

But I'm a huge college basketball fan, and will be glued to the TV set at every opportunity until the tournament concludes. My choices for the teams I'd like to see in the Final Four are Penn, Monmouth, Bucknell and Seton Hall. Too bad none of them are higher than a 9 seed.

I'm rooting for Penn, because Princeton is my favorite team and I always pull for the Ivy League. I pull for Monmouth - except when they play Princeton - because they're local and I like their game, which is similar to Princeton's. I root for Bucknell because my brother went there and I have fond memories of the time I spent on campus visiting him in Lewisburg, Pa. And I'm pulling for Seton Hall because I patterned my game after my childhood basketball idol, the Pirates' Nick ''the Quick'' Werkman.

Will any of my favorites advance beyond the first round? You never know. The tournament is always full of surprises.